Sprint updates Family Locater service

Sprint Nextel has updated its Sprint Family Locator service to bring its feature set more in line with competitors such as Disney Mobile. The child-tracking service was originally launched earlier this year and uses GPS so that parents can pull the current location of their kids. Location can be tracked either from a website or mobile handset.

Compatibility has been upgraded to more handsets. There are now 30 parent capable and 58 child capable handsets. The relatively recent Sanyo 2400 is compatible, but also adds parental controls that allow restriction for usage. Additionally, Sprint launched restriction options for web access so that parents can restrict kids to certain websites. This feature is available on all handsets and is managed through Sprint's website.

Verizon Wireless launched a service similar to Family Locator dubbed Chaperone earlier this summer.